Sozin's Struggle
by JonathanByers11
Summary: <html><head></head>"Pride, war, and conquest is every great rulers potential downfall. It could be Sozin's. But I've done my best to steer him towards his destiny, towards the right path. What that means is up to him. But the future of Fire Nation depends on it, and on him. There is a great responsibility on those shoulders and how well he bears up under the strain we have yet to see."</html>


The Fire Nation royal palanquin swept through the parting crowd easily, moving the citizens like the Red Sea, as the commoners dove aside to get out of the way. The man inside cooly observed the scene laid out before him from the window, eyes searching for any faults that needed to be rectified. His Nation needed to be the greatest and he would stop at nothing to achieve that.

"Guard!" he barked at an Imperial Firebender who was trotting alongside the palanquin.

"Yes, m'lord?" he replied warily.

"Why aren't my people bowing?"

"This is a small village. They are ignorant of the courtesies which royalty require, m'lord."

The man gazed back at the villagers as they gawked openly at their ruler.

"Order them to bow," he demanded darkly.

"B-b-but, m'lord," the guard objected weakly.

"Do it!"

"Yes, m'lord." He turned to face the peering faces of the villagers and yelled, " All bow before Fire Lord Sozin!"

Everyone started, dropping to their knees and stretched their arms forward clumsily. Suddenly, Fire Lord Sozin called for the palanquin to stop its movement before he leapt out of it.

"Fire Lord Sozin!" called a guard, moving forward to stop him but was pushed aside like a rag doll. The Fire Lord strode towards the back of the crowd where a young woman wasn't bowing like the others.

"Why aren't you bowing?" he growled, grabbing her arm.

"I did, Fire Lord Sozin," she responded without fear, "the instant I saw you."

Fire Lord Sozin's expression changed from one of anger to one of surprise. "You were obviously brought up well…" He trailed off as he realized something familiar in this girl. "I know those eyes." He took in her features, scanning every inch of her.

"With all do respect, Fire Lord Sozin," said a man, drawing a sword nearby. "But I must ask you to unhand my wife."

The Imperial Firebenders closed in, aiming their fists on the man, prepared to attack and defend their leader at the drop of a hat.

Sozin, however, completely ignored him. "What is your name, girl?"

"Rina, m'lord, and that's my husband Jinsuk," she said. "I imagine you know exactly who I am."

"You're the spitting image of Ta Min," he whispered in shock.

"My mother and I look a lot alike."

"Then, you're… Roku's daughter?"

She nodded and watched the blood drain from his wrinkled face, his knees buckling. Rina rushed forward to catch his weight.

"Fire Lord Sozin, you need to rest," she mollycoddled. "Come, our house is nearby. You may sit down for a while."

Sozin ordered the Imperials to stand down and he followed Rina and Jinsuk to a humble hut nearby. The front room was a sitting area with light flowing inside from the windows, potted plants abound the floors and ceiling. There was a doorway that led deeper into the hut but, as he entered, he was immediately steered onto a cushioned seat by a window, his body thankful for something to relax upon.

"Would you like tea, m'lord?" Rina asked.

"Yes… thank you," he nodded, running a hand over his old face tiredly.

Jinsuk sat nearby and watched him intensely. Sozin stared back at him, confusion written all over his face. It'd just began to be uncomfortable when Rina returned with a steaming cup of tea.

"Apparently you don't hold the same hatred for me that your father does," Fire Lord Sozin said bitterly, accepting the cup.

"My father seems to have forgotten the good times you had together in your youth," she sighed.

"Yes, I suppose I have, as well."

"It's a shame. Mother says you were so close."

"Time has a way of changing us all."

"He thinks you were never loyal for some reason," she chuckled.

"I once tried to kill a man who attempted to assassinate your father many years ago. Then again, I was a teenager. I couldn't quite understand the laws of my Nation just yet. However, I don't regret my choices."

Jinsuk cut in. "The way my father-in-law sees it, you betrayed him by going against his explicit orders and establishing the colonies in the Earth Kingdom."

Sozin paused his sip of tea, glaring at the young man across from him.

"Jinsuk, don't be rude," Rina chastised.

"All I'm saying is that the Fire Lord should listen to the Avatar. We all know who has all the power," Jinsuk argued, shrugging.

"Roku should have left his loyalties to his Nation," Sozin said lowly.

"He's the Avatar," Jinsuk shot at him.

"I am his Fire Lord!" Sozin yelled back, the tea cup shattering as he closed his fist onto it.

"I think it's time you leave," Jinsuk said, gesturing towards the door.

"Fine!" Sozin spat.

He quickly got to his feet and shuffled out the door. His Imperial Firebenders stood waiting outside to escort him back to the palanquin safely. The door slid open behind him and Rina ran out.

"Wait!" she cried, holding a small cloth package to him. "I think my father would want you to have this."

He accepted the parcel with a grumble before swiftly departing.

Back in the palanquin, he carefully undid the string and the cloth fell loose in his hand to reveal a golden ornament. It was a headdress to keep a topknot in place; a crown. The very same one that belonged to the Crown Prince.

The one he had given to Roku decades before.

Sozin stroked it with his thumb and forefinger nostalgically. The first thing he would do with it was give it to his young son Azulon. Maybe he would wear it with the pride and dignity with which a Crown Prince should.

The way Roku did.'


End file.
